Expectations
by kishioshizuka
Summary: Fate likes to keep things exciting, Tetsuya finds out. Enter Akashi Seijuurou(s). Post-canon.
1. Prologue

Prologue.

Kise-kun,  
>I'm very sorry but I can't make the gathering this weekend. Would you please let everyone know?<br>- Kuroko

* * *

><p>(+O+)! Y?<br>Don't ditch us~~(QAQ)

* * *

><p>Kise-kun,<br>Please do not flood your messages with emoticons; it makes you look like an idiot.  
>As for your question, I have an engagement I cannot get out of this Saturday.<br>- Kuroko

* * *

><p>With who?<p>

* * *

><p>Is it a girl?<p>

* * *

><p>(QAQ) Are you ditching us for a girl?<p>

* * *

><p>Kurokocchi?!<p>

* * *

><p>Kise-kun,<br>If you don't stop spamming me, I will block your number.  
>And yes, I do have dinner plans with a female.<br>-Kuroko

* * *

><p>! !Noooooooo~<p>

* * *

><p>Don't do this Kurokocchi!<p>

* * *

><p>Who is she?<p>

* * *

><p>WHOO?<p>

* * *

><p>Kise-kun,<br>Last warning.  
>Also, the female is my mother.<br>-Kuroko

* * *

><p>Oh.<p>

* * *

><p>Sorry. But it's so weird! Akashicchi can't make it either (QAQ)<br>We're going to miss you guys!

* * *

><p>Kise-kun,<br>I'm sure Akashi-kun has his reasons. He is a busy person.  
>I'm going to go to sleep now. If I see any messages in my<br>inbox next morning for no good reason, I will be very displeased.  
>Good night.<br>-Kuroko

* * *

><p>So mean! (;.;) Good night Kurokocchi!<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Yes, I know. I should not be starting a new story when Exotic isn't even a quarter of the way done and I've, for all intents and purposes, gone and died in a ditch somewhere. Nevertheless, I think this will help me with my writer's block and also because the end of the series just makes me want to write. I am not back because the only reason I'm here is to not work on my graphics project. I'm very sorry for my horrible work ethics and hopefully my next update would be soon and for the story I'm supposed to be writing.


	2. Chapter 1

1. Coincidence

Tetsuya finds himself awake at the crack of dawn on Saturday. Outside, the sun has barely passed the horizon, the sky a dull blue-gray canvas bleeding with orange at the edge. The house isn't silent, however, as Tetsuya has expected. It's one of the few traits he got from his mother, aside from his appearance - his tendency to wake up absurdly early the day of a big event. She must be nervous too, although it wouldn't show much on her face - another similarity. Clangs and clatters locate her in the kitchen, where she is rarely found, not because she isn't a good cook but because she's usually too busy for it. After his father's death she supported the two of them on her own, refusing monetary help from his father's side of the family. Her stubborn sense of independence- another similarity - stems, Tetsuya thinks, from her strength.

Which is why he was surprised when she pulled him aside Friday evening and informed him of her plan to get remarried to a man she met at work. She wants Tetsuya to meet the man, his potential future step-father, and his son (the same age as him, she says). The reason why, despite his indifference to fashion and the like, Tetsuya is combing through his belongings for an appropriate outfit, because he wants to make a good impression for his mother. He settles on some a nice shirt and his only pair of formal pants, purchased for his high school graduation a week ago.

From the sound of it, his mother has finished cooking. His grumbling stomach prods him to investigate, so he carefully lays his clothing assemble on the bed and makes his way to the kitchen.

"Good morning, mother."

"Tetsuya, you're up early." His mother has a soft voice, much like his own. She gestures at the dining table, where two servings of traditional breakfast foods has been set. "Breakfast is ready."

"Itadakimasu."

They eat in silence, since neither is the talkative type. Despite this, they don't have a bad relationship, he thinks. Both Tetsuya and his mother is busy, him with the library committee and basketball club and Kise's improptu ambushes and her with her work, but his mother makes time to cook for them both, as much as her workaholic schedule allows and he tries to keep the house as neat as possible so she wouldn't have to be troubled. Sometimes, they trade reading suggestions, despite the fact that he likes pure literature and she likes nonfiction.

"Do you have any plans for the day?"

Taking a moment to chew and swallow, Tetsuya thinks about the gathering he is supposed to attend tonight. "There's a book that I've been meaning to finish, so I'll probably stay in. What about you, mother?"

Wiping her mouth delicately with a napkin, his mother stands up, gathers the utensils, and sets them in the sink. "There is something at the office that I have to finish, so I'll meet you at the restaurant. Do you know how to get there?"

Tetsuya nods, poking at what remains of the rice in his bowl. The food is delicious, but he finds it difficult to take another bite.

"I'll see you tonight then." With a soft pat of his unruly bedhead and a sharp click of heels against the entryway floor, his mother is out of the house.

* * *

><p>The restaurant is located inside Hotel Imperial, which Tetsuya has only been to once for Akashi's birthday celebration the year before. The building looms, a sculpture of classic curves and ornate details rising out of the earth. Tetsuya tugs at the sleeve of his jacket uncomfortably, scanning the lobby for signs of his mother.<p>

The room is full of fancily dressed people - men in suits, women in dresses, elder women in elaborate kimonos. The interior is all white marble and brass details, crystal lamps and heavy golden frames. He spots her next to the lounge, in an elegant blue dress and high heels and standing next to a tall man in an expensive looking suit, dark hair combed back. He makes his way toward them, studying the man's expressionless face - strong jaws, a sharp chin, eyes that revealed nothing - and impeccably ironed trousers. As he nears them, he notices another figure half-hidden by the shadow of the column the group has gathered around.

The son, most likely. A flash of red, from a hotel attendent moving out of the path of light from the brilliant chandelier above them - the same shade of red as the hair of the man in the the suit, now that Tetsuya is close enough to see.

His mother has noticed him, leading the man to look in his direction as well. As he moves to face Tetsuya properly, the figure in the dark is thrown into light. Crimson hair, longer now again, both eyes that unforgettable shade of ruby set in a familiar face that Tetsuya saw only two weeks prior.

Tetsuya tears his eyes away from the face of Akashi Seijuurou at the sound of his mother's voice.

"Tetsuya, this is Akashi Seiichi and his son Seijuurou. Seiichi-san, Seijuurou-kun, this is my son Tetsuya."

"It's very nice to meet you, Akashi-san." His voice sounds as faint as the breeze even to himself. After a short exchange of greetings that Tetsuya feels like he is seeing through a dream, his attention is once again stolen by Akashi, who has a half-smile on his face as he moves forward.

"Kuroko, I suspected," Akashi murmurs, the amusement in his voice like seeping honey. "Kuroko-san and you look very much alike." He glances at his father with a wry curve of his lips before turning back to Tetsuya. "I assure you that this is almost as much a surprise for me as it is for you."

"Akashi-kun," is all Tetsuya manages to respond.

In his head, Kise's voice (imaginable even through text correspondence) rings.

_But it's so weird! Akashicchi can't make it either (QAQ)_

Strange coincidences, indeed.


End file.
